Fire is one of the most beautiful subjects that artists of all medium can have. Being able to draw it with as much proximity, beauty and delicateness as with the real form is considered to be quite a challenge and achievement for many artists. In fact, a lot of people say that once you learn to draw a flame, you are somewhat equipped to draw furthermore complicated subjects.

What most aspiring artists do not know is that drawing a flame could be simple. It just takes much precise observation compared to drawing still life objects like chairs or tables. So, here are the basics of what you should know in order to start drawing a flame.

Get Some Inspiration

Fire is one element of nature that is both magical and whimsical. It could really be addicting and relaxing by just staring at it; so if you want to draw it, then there’s no better way to start but by getting some inspiration. No, you do not have to burn the whole house and watch as the flames go up. A mere match or lighter would do. Light up the match and look at the flame for some time. Try to keep the image in your head, just like a movie that keeps on playing back.

Get Shaped Up!

You should first decide what shape you would want your flame to be. At this point, try not to delve too much on the details of your subject or other complicated elements. Just think about the shape. Start exercising your imagination and visualize a shape.

Generally, most aspiring artists that want to master drawing this kind of subject start out by making use of the “S” shape. Thus, the term “S-shaped flame”. This is a favourite for beginners since it is one of the easiest to draw. If you decide on using this shape, then it would be your drawing’s outer shell.

How About The Internal Structure?

Next, you should think about the internal structure of your drawing. As soon as you have your chosen shape and you have drawn it on your paper, think about what you want to place inside. Visualize a design that you would want to place within your shape. There is basically no limit in choosing a design and there are different variations available for you to play and experiment with.

For instance, you can draw a smaller version of your outer shell’s shape. So, if you have a S-shape for an outer shell, then you can place a smaller S-shape inside. You can place only one or even a number of smaller S-shaped flames with different sizes and shapes inside. It is all basically up to you.

Add Some Color

Although flames can be drawn in both black and white, and color, opting for the first one would require mastery of shading. For beginners coloring is recommended. Doing this would give life to your drawing. So, add some color to your flame. Recall what the flame looked like when you lit up the match or when you lit up the lighter. If possible try to light a fire again, just to see the actual colors.

Observe closely. See the difference of the inside portion of the flame with the outside. If you look closely, you would see that the tip is colored blue, in most cases. The core also has this color. However, as you go farther out from the core, you would observe that hues of yellow, orange and red have appeared.

Use your imagination and try to blend these said colors in your drawing. Arrange them as how your model flame looked like.